"Have you been in the castle for long? I'm sure I would've noticed if I saw you in the corridors before now."

Odette could not stop her gaze from dropping to Baram's hands, watching as he handled the crystal. They were lovely, despite the little half-healed knicks and bruises here and there, and looked quite warm to hold. Odette found herself wearing a soft little-half smile as she combed her hair over her shoulder with her fingers.

"It was just me and my nana. We would travel around to different college campuses where she gave lectures, and I would get to explore the old buildings and parks while she was working. I got to see so many lovely places..."

Her face fell a bit. "But my nana couldn't always protect me. Not while she was busy. I started to get followed around sometimes by strangers, but only one of them actually attacked me. And when that happened, my nana decided that it would be best if I stayed in one place. A-and she was friends with people in Lakeshore, so it was the best choice. But nana's still travelling, so I don't get to see her very often at all."

She brightened then, realizing with a pang that she was missing her grandmother terribly and forcing herself to smile again for Baram's benefit. "B-but I like it here, Baram. And I'm glad you came into the shop today. D-do you think I'll be able to see you at school? Say hi?"

He grumbled at bit and nodded. "Yeah, I have been here for. . . a while."

His brow furrowed when she mentioned being attacked before and he could tell that she probably missed her Nana very much. Baram started to reach out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder but thought better of it. Instead he ran his hand through his hair and gave her a genuine smile. "I miss my family too. I haven't gotten to talk to them in a long time. So, I understand. I can't wait till I can go back and hug my little sister again. . . and help dad in the shop." Baram felt a warmth well up inside of himself. Instead of the crippling self loathing that he had been feeling the past several months, this was happiness and determination. He was going to get better and no matter what happened he was going to go back home, to his family, where he belonged.

Her next few statements took him out of his own thoughts and he chuckled. He wasn't sure if she was just nervous or if she had a speach problem, but the little stutter was cute. "You might see me in the halls now and again, since my schedule is changing. You will probably see me with either Asher or Professor Oakleigh, they like checking up on me and stuff like that. Don't be affraid to come over and say hi. I know Asher, especially, can look and sound a bit stern but he's really nice. He just takes what he does a little bit too seriously."

Odette nodded and started to move back towards the ink display, trying to stifle the soft chuckle that escaped her.

"You're one of Oakleigh's?" That explained why he had been too busy to spend time in his dorm room. If he was a berserker, Oakleigh and his TA would certainly be keeping him busy. "That's probably the reason I haven't seen you yet, then. I'm not allowed around the Nest or the isolation rooms."

Baram tipped his head, a bit curious as to why Odette wasn't allowed around the Nest or isolation rooms. He knew that most students weren't but a lot of them hadn't tried either. "Why wouldn't you be allowed near the Nest at least?"

He beamed and continued idly playing with the quartz in his hands. "I'm from the UK like, Baby. My dad is a big tough guy but he's nice to people who he knows really well and he has a passion for cars and motor bikes. My sister is a little angel. A feisty angel who demands to be her own woman but she's still a baby to me. Her name is Imogen."

"It's my m-magic. When I'm scared, I give off some kind of hallucinogen. It's dangerous for that to be around a naturally violent p-person, just because it's hard to tell how someone will act w-when they're stoned out of their mind." Odette shrugged. "For a lot of p-people, they just get really giggly and kinda l-like little kids. For some, they freak out and get more violent. So for everyone's sake, I s-stay away from that part of the castle."

Though her gaze was on the ink bottles as she stacked them, Odette's eyes squinted with the smile that curled her lips as she listened to Baram talk about his family. She glanced through her hair at him and bit her lip. He was sweet. And loving, it sounded like. She made a happy little humming noise and looked over one of the ink bottles in her hands.

"They really are. I miss them a lot." He was curious how her power worked but he could understand how that could be a negative thing. "It's understandable. I know that. . . some of the students there would react very badly to an influence like that. So you don't have any controll over it at all?"

He paused for a moment, looking down at his hands and he said quietly, "I hope I never scare you." He glanced at her, feeling a warmth rising up from his neck. He carefully took a few steps back and moved over to the staircase, looking up to see if he could catch any sight of Baby. "Are you still alive up there or do I need to send a search party?"

Odette shook her head. "It's completely involuntary..." Her brow furrowed and she started to turn towards him, wanting to say that she didn't think him scary at all, in fact she thought him quite sweet and would like to get to know him more, but he was already moving away.

She bit her lip and blushed as she finished stacking the ink bottles. She was suddenly feeling quite jealous of Baby.

"I'm alive," Baby called, and she could be heard shuffling towards the staircase. She popped into view a moment later, cradling what looked like a brass bird skull to her chest as she started descending the spiral staircase. There were streaks of dust in her hair and she was chuckling.

"Sorry I took so long. I had to climb behind a fort of bookshelves to get to the incense burners." Also she was hoping that if she left Baram and Odette alone long enough, they would start flirting. "Did you have a nice long chat, mate?" She smirked and glanced over at Odette, then up at her friend.

Baram grumbled and ruffled Baby's hair, both trying to get the dust off her and just to bug her a bit. "Yeah. I'm getting some quartz Miss Odette recomended to me." He nudged her a bit with his elbow. "So, who is this dude that you are getting this ancient relic for?"

He looked back at Odette, hoping that he didn't mess anything up. He lowered his voice a bit and shifted his gaze back to Baby. "Are you ready to go, Bei?"

"Hm?" Odette looked up in the process of nibbling on one of her fingertips. She smiled and walked over to step behind the desk, moving on her toes so that she made little noise if any at all. She stooped to select a box with cotton lining for the burner, and little velvet bags for the quartz crystals.

She had to stop herself from letting her eyes turn to Baram as she packed everything neatly into a paper bag.

Baram grumbled under his breath at her. Something about some things never changing and being nosey about things. He followed Baby's example and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He paid for his portion and sighed. "We'll have to see if I like this guy, Bei." He was joking of course. He knew Baby would make her own choices with or without his approval but he still liked to pretend to be the older brother. Maybe it was just back lash from not being able to do his brotherly duties back home.

His eyes kept wandering to look at Odette and he gently took the bags from her, carrying Baby's purchase as well. "Thank you so much for your help. I'll try to be by again to let you know if it works out." He smiled softly. "Hopefully I will be able to see you very soon, Odette."